Lakers-Warriors: Pau Gasol Dominates in Second Half in Lakers Win

Ryan WardJan 8, 2009

Pau Gasol was the man on Wednesday for the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors in their rebound victory after the loss to New Orleans Hornets.

At times in his career, especially during the NBA finals last year, Pau has been considered soft and easy to push around in the paint, but on Wednesday he was possessed and on a mission to rebound from the bad game against the Hornets.

With game highs of 33 points and 18 rebounds, Gasol was just a monster in the paint for Los Angeles. While his point total was impressive his offensive rebounds in this game were even more impressive, with eight boards off the offensive glass.

The Lakers struggled for most of the game against the Warriors in Oakland at Oracle Arena. But once the fourth quarter came around the Lakers turned it on by scoring 37 points to take control of the game and beat the Warriors 114-106 for the second time in two weeks.

The Warriors did have their best player on the bench with Stephen Jackson in street clothes watching from the sidelines, but Jamal Crawford and Corey Maggette picked up the slack and combined for 44 points. Andris Biedrins also had a good game for Golden State by crashing the boards with 17 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant had a decent night with 21 points, but it was Andrew Bynum who had somewhat of a break out game with 18 points, 11 boards, and two blocks. Trevor Ariza continues to be the top performer off the bench as he scored 17 points and grabbed nine boards.

Even though the Warriors put up a good fight, it just wasn't enough to top a huge night by Pau Gasol and company.